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SGA must hold election by Oct. 31
Bergquist named interim president; Williams won't run; Gill undecided
By Matt Quane
mquane@mscd.edu
Metro's Student Court has ordered a special election to be held this fall to decide the position of Student Government Assembly president and 10 remaining senate seats.
The Student Court ruled the special election must be held by Oct. 31.
The decision came in June after the disqualification by the SGA election commission in the spring of presidential candidate Zoë Williams and other senatorial candidates.
The court ruled that it could not confirm the position of SGA president due to irregularities during the election process surrounding the position and the disqualification of multiple candidates.
"The Student Court feels that although questionable actions were made by several individuals throughout the election process-such as the inappropriate polling station and the late appointment of replacement Election Commissioners-the actions made by such acting individuals were made in the best interests of the Student Body, and those students believed that their actions were permissible and warranted by policy," the court said in its ruling.
Any student, despite his or her involvement in the spring election will be allowed to run this fall for any vacant position.
Dennis Bergquist, who was elected as SGA vice president, will serve as interim president until a new president is elected.
The Election Commission disqualified Williams during the spring election after a complaint was filed against her by Metro student Anna Davis, which cited multiple infractions of Colorado state election laws, including the operation of a private polling station run by Williams and her supporters.
Complaints were also filed against incumbent candidate Candace Gill, which focused on her late appointment of replacement members to the Election Commission that eventually disqualified Williams.
Williams told The Metropolitan Aug. 18 that she does not intend to run again for the SGA presidency this fall. Gill had indicated earlier this summer that she was unsure whether she would run for president in the fall election.
Gill did not return calls seeking comment.
The presidency was the only contested race in the SGA election this spring.
The court has also ordered that an electoral code of ethics be created in order to establish a guideline for the Election Commission to follow should any other controversial actions be taken by future candidates.
Despite the turmoil, the SGA Executive Council and Senate have been holding regular meetings over the summer.
The Senate has adopted a procedures, hired outside help, including former Student Trustee Stephen Hay, to develop policies for the SGA, and commissioned Richard Boettner to develop a more interactive and informative SGA website.
The Senate also attempted to fill Senate seats left vacant by the Election Commission's decision by appointing interim members. To retain their positions, interim members would have to run for and win the temporary seat in the fall.
Elected Senator Alyssa Trojan did not meet all the qualification requirements to be a senator and as a result will not serve in the senate this fall.
Marziya Kaka resigned as Student Advisory Committee to the Auraria Board representative saying she would be "unable to uphold the position." The SACAB election to fill the Metro position and two positions from UCD and CCD will be held Sept. 6 and 7.
The Student Court also made multiple recommendations, including payment to election commissioners for their duties, an operational budget for the Election Commission, refunding campaign expenses to candidates who must re-run for a position, and a revision of Election Commission bylaws to address troubling issues, including write-in candidates, polling stations, campaigning guidelines and others.
